Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is that of a “secondary” or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game, which is typically entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game, may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the basic game.
Another concept that has been employed to enhance player entertainment and achieve player loyalty is the use of progressive games. In the gaming industry, a “progressive” game involves collecting coin-in data from participating gaming device(s) (e.g., slot machines), contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a progressive jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a certain jackpot-won event. A jackpot-won event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along a certain payline. Typically, the initial progressive jackpot is a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the gaming machine without winning the jackpot. Typically, once the progressive jackpot is awarded, the jackpot amount is reset to the predetermined minimum amount.
Conventional slot-type wagering games include a plurality of symbol-bearing reels, each of which has a plurality of distinct symbol positions and bears an array of symbols. Traditionally, slot-type gaming machines display selected outcomes of symbols and award players for game outcomes with winning symbols and combinations of symbols in accordance with a pay table. To enhance player entertainment and excitement, some slot-type gaming machines have employed “clumping” of symbols, where groups or “clumps” of the same symbol appear adjacent to one another on vertical reels. By occupying multiple symbol positions with one or more of the same symbols, a symbol clump typically increases the likelihood of achieving a winning outcome and corresponding award. In general, the number of symbol clumps, as well as the respective location and size of each symbol clump, on any given reel are customarily preset and unchangeable. In addition, given the increased likelihood of a winning outcome, the clumps are typically permanently assigned to symbols corresponding to relatively lower awards on the pay table. If symbols corresponding to higher awards are clumped, the frequency of the occurrence of such clumped symbols is permanently reduced to maintain a predetermined level or range of payout percentage.
There is still a need for additional concepts to enhance the entertainment value of slot-type wagering games. Although a lot of focus is now being paid to enhancing bonus games, there is still room for improving the basic wagering game.